Top ideas for Digital Inclusion Wiki
Welcome to the Top ideas for Digital Inclusion Wiki There's so much great activity happening in the world of digital inclusion - in the UK and beyond -and we want to capture all of these ideas and best practice to create a useful guide that everyone in the sector can use. Our top ideasCategory:Browse To get you started, here are our top ideas - but we need more! Please share your top ideas, findings and observations so we can create the ultimate list of what works in the world of Digital Inclusion. If you've got direct experience of doing any of this then please add your case study onto the WiKi too, helping to bring it to life. 1. One-on-one support works The expert support of tutors and volunteers can really make a difference to supporting people who are often very resistant to traditional learning. This can be provided in an individual's home or in a community centre, Library, pub or other convenient or leisure setting. As long as the venue has a fit for purpose connection. Trying to teach someone when the connection keeps dropping out is not a satisfactory solution. 2. It's important to tackle the access issue Not being able to access the internet is one of the main reasons why people are digitally excluded, so it's important to signpost them to free Wifi, local places where they can get online and low cost deals for devices (tablets and laptops are the main devices people like). It is also vitally important to lobby government so everyone has a fit for purpose connection, as roughly one third of the population doesn't at the moment. 3. Use intermediaries to reach the hard to reach It can be difficult getting to people who are offline and very resistant, but intermediaries can help. Setting up referral partnerships with places like hospitals, local doctor's surgeries, care homes and community centres can be a useful way of reaching new groups. 4. Inspiration is needed! For people who aren't yet online, it's important to find the hook that will make the internet relevant for them, whether this is connecting with friends and family over Skype, getting a job, researching a hobby or shopping - and saving - online. That is why a fit for purpose connection is essential, so the applications work first time, quickly and efficiently without time outs and buffering or pixelated video. 5. It's all about learning locally. ''' People are more receptive to learning in places they know - like a community centre they visit regularly, or a local library - rather than a more formal training environment. They are also extremely receptive in their own homes, but often lack a fit for purpose connection. That is why it is vital to mention this at every opportunity. '''6. Take learning to where people are Outreach models, or taking learning to places where people are, such as sports clubs, leisure centres or other community venues - overcomes some of the main barriers people have to getting online. It is even better to use local volunteers to visit where the people actually are, and to do so they have to have access to a fit for purpose connection. 7. Use expert online content There is a wealth of expert online content out there which means no-one has to reinvent the wheel in order to support people to get online, and everyone can provide consistent, quality learning in local places, as long as they have a fit for purpose connection. 8. Local marketing campaigns work People who are digitally excluded respond to local messaging in places they know, rather than national advertising, or messages they don't think apply to them. Local knowledge and personalised messaging is the most effective way to reach those who are digitally excluded. So these are our top 8 tips for digital inclusion, but we'd love to hear yours so please do share them here and we'll be presenting and debating our final list at our conference this November. Here's another; Work towards Participant Led Learning - were the themes, topics and sessions are based on digital issues or subjects that individuals, groups and communities have identified as being particualr barriers or of particuilar interest and relevance to them. This can help people see and impact to learning early on. (Paul - Destinations @ Saltburn) Co-design game I hope this is useful as a kind-of meta tip ... turn the tips and possible digital inclusion ideas into cards for a workshop game so that people can customise local action from a long menu, and then co-design how to put that into practice. Here's how we did that with Southwark council http://socialreporter.com/?p=2984 Glad to run something at the conference if it seems useful. We are also planning a solitaire version @davidwilcox